Lexi Thompson is the 2015 Meijer LPGA Classic champion, who has missed it, defended it, and bled through it. The tournament returns to Blythefield Country Club this week for its 12th edition with a $3.25 million purse. Thompson’s name usually sits right up near the top of the leaderboard, but this time she is not in the field competing.

“It’s hard to put into words how disappointed I am to have had to withdraw this week. The @meijerlpga has always held such a special place in my heart. It’s my favorite event every year, and I’ve made so many incredible memories here throughout my career,” Lexi wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately, the pain in my hip reached a point where I knew I wasn’t able to compete. As difficult as it was, withdrawing before the tournament began was the only decision I could make.”

She did not play a round or take a tee shot, but withdrew before the tournament began, citing the need to focus on recovery. No timeline for her return was shared, and no further updates on her hip pain were given, just a thank you for the volunteers, staff, sponsors, and fans.

This isn’t new territory for Thompson, as she played through serious back pain in 2016 while defending her Meijer title. She struggled to bend into her stance and relied on anti-inflammatories just to finish Blythefield’s back nine. Years later, a fall down a flight of stairs in 2023 sent her in for an MRI. The results showed no fractures, but they did reveal inflammation and swelling. She also dealt with a neck problem that flared up suddenly during a Pro-Am round at Pelican Golf Club. That kind of setback can hit in the middle of a swing with no warning.

In 2025, Thompson faced more than just a sore back. Thompson found out she has Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune thyroid condition that runs in her family, and it is this diagnosis that led her to freeze embryos, a family-planning choice she had to make quickly. And then, just weeks before the 2026 Ford Championship, she lost her grandfather and briefly stepped away from social media.

She’s been playing a reduced schedule since stepping back from full-time competition, picking her events with more care than she used to need. Adjusting her calendar so that she can rest up and let her body catch up.

Thompson built her history at Meijer with golf that earns a banner. She won in 2015, and the article claims she won in 2016, though she actually only won in 2015. Her title defense held up under real pressure, and she built a relationship with the tournament’s volunteers and staff that she has thanked publicly more than once. That history does not disappear because she is not walking the course this week. It will wait until next June for her to make new history.

The Meijer LPGA Classic started in 2014 and has raised more than $12 million for hunger relief since then. The tournament has fed around 100 million meals through a partnership most fans never think about while watching approach shots land. Twelve editions in, it has become one of the LPGA’s most reliable regular-season stops. The purse stays intact and the field stays strong, but this time the story continues without the player who once won it.